US Cities Sign Water Management Agreement

A new water management agreement has been signed to improve water management in the Delaware River reservoirs located in New York, US.

The agreement has been signed between New York State, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner Joe Martens said the water management plan will enable the release of a large volume of cold water to improve trout habitat while assuring an adequate supply of drinking water.

The plan will also help enhance flood mitigation, increase the amount of water available to New Jersey during times of drought and to the lower basin states overall.

The agreement is based on inputs by a computer model, the operational support tool, which has been developed by New York City with an investment of $5.2m.

The tool takes into account actual and predicted rainfall, the amount of water flowing and stores in the reservoirs to help water utilities better manage rates of water release.